ESTABROOK SCHOOL
ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
Estabrook School is committed to ensuring a safe arrival and dismissal for each student. To that end, we have developed the following guidelines. Parents should be familiar with these expectations. The goal of dismissal is safety, not expediency. Please plan accordingly, especially in the opening days of school and during inclement weather.
The Estabrook School Arrival and Dismissal Plan is a product of the collaboration of the Lexington Public Schools, the Lexington Police Department, the Lexington School Committee, the Estabrook School administration and the Estabrook Access Ad Hoc Task Force.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
- Morning arrival is from 8:15 – 8:45 a.m.
- Dismissal is from 3:15 – 3:30 p.m., and 12:15 – 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays
- As a LEED-certified green school, Estabrook encourages alternative modes of transportation, including walking, riding a bicycle or scooter, carpooling or riding a school bus
- Grove Street is the main entrance to Estabrook School, and the only entrance for vehicles; the Robinson Road rotary is for pedestrians only
- Drivers, walkers, bicyclists and scooter riders must follow all posted traffic and parking signs as well as the crossing guard, school staff and police direction at all times
- Students must walk on sidewalks and cross only at crosswalks
- Drive slowly
- Seatbelts must be worn at all times
- Refrain from cell phone use
- Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
- Idling, U-turns, and horn honking are prohibited
- Dogs are not permitted on school property, per LPS policy
MORNING ARRIVAL
Arrival is from 8:15 – 8:45 a.m. Estabrook staff is present to supervise and assist students during morning arrival. Students may arrive beginning at 8:15 a.m. Students are not allowed to arrive prior to 8:15 a.m. unless they are participating in a before school program. School staff must be present outside before any student can be dropped-off.
From 8:15-8:30, all students line up in their class’s designated location outside. At 8:30 a.m., students proceed indoors, led by our staff. Students arriving after 8:30 a.m. proceed directly to their classrooms. In inclement weather and during winter months, students will line up in the gymnasium. Instruction begins at 8:45 a.m. Students not in their classroom by the 8:45 a.m. bell will be marked as tardy.
LIVE DROP-OFF & PICK UP (INDIVIDUAL CARS & CARPOOLS)
Arrival by car is a LIVE DROP-OFF/PICK-UP SYSTEM. Students who arrive by car are dropped off in the live drop off loop in front of the school, and picked up at the same location. Traveling in the right lane, drivers pull up to the front of the building and students enter/exit at the curb. Students are only permitted to enter/exit from the passenger side of the car. Parents should remain in their cars; staff will assist students with entering/exiting cars.
DISMISSAL PROCEDURE
Dismissal is from 3:15 – 3:30 p.m. (12:15 – 12:30 p.m. Thursdays). Vehicles are not allowed to line up before 3:00 p.m. (M, T, W, F) and 12:00 on Thursday. Please take note, any parent/guardian lining up in the school driveway for pick-up before 3:00 p.m. may be directed to move. It is recommended that parents/guardians picking up their child(ren) in a vehicle arrive after 3:15 p.m. (12:15 p.m. on Thursdays).
Parents should have signage posted on their passenger side window. Staff will call your child(ren) forward to meet you and your vehicle.
If any staff member does not recognize the parent or designated pick-up caregiver, he/she may direct the driver to park their vehicle and proceed to the school office to be properly identified before we dismiss the student. Adults must be able to produce photo identification.
MAKING A CHANGE IN YOUR CHILD’S DISMISSAL PLAN
Advance notice is required for a change in a student’s dismissal plan. For permanent changes to a student’s Monday-Friday Dismissal Schedule, you must send a written note or email the classroom teacher. This must be done at least 24 hours in advance. Changes sent via email “the day of” may not be seen and cannot be guaranteed to be received. Permission to dismiss a child to a different parent or adult must also be sent to the classroom teacher by note or email.
One time changes in Dismissal must go through the main office. Call the the Estabrook Main Office at 781-861-2520 with your one time change in dismissal and the office will inform the classroom teacher of the change for the day. Please do not make dismissal changes after 2:00 p.m. unless there is an emergency.
ROBINSON ROAD ENTRANCE
Estabrook School’s Robinson Road rotary entrance is open to student and parent pedestrians only. Students are able to enter the property from Robinson Road and enter the main door at the front of the school. Vehicles may not enter, park or idle in the Robinson Road rotary, driveway rear entrance, fire lanes or on Robinson Road. Both sides of Robinson Road are designated no parking by the Lexington Police Department. Parent vehicles should never be driven through the Robinson Road entrance into the loading dock, rear driveway, greenhouse area or emergency access roads (fire lanes).
BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Parents of students attending the Morning Club and other before school clubs must either park in the visitor parking lot and accompany their child(ren) into school and sign their child(ren) in with the supervising staff member, or drop students off curbside at the front live drop-off location (depending on the directions of each program). Parents of Lextended Day students or those participating in after-school activities must park in the parking lot and enter the school to pick-up their child(ren).
TAKING THE SCHOOL BUS
Bus transportation is available through the Lexington Public Schools Transportation Department. Staff members meet bus riders upon arrival and supervise their entry to school, as well as escort riders to their buses at dismissal. More information on Lexington school buses is available here.
WALKING AND BICYCLING TO AND FROM SCHOOL
Only students in Grades 2-5 may walk/bike/scooter to school independently. At dismissal, parents who meet and walk home with students can meet their children on the front patio.
Bicyclists/scooter riders must:
- practice the route with their parents prior to taking it independently
- wear helmets
- walk their bicycles/scooters on the school property
- remain on the sidewalks at all times and walk/cross at crosswalks
- use bicycle racks located in front of and on the playground side of the school
PARKING
As a LEED-certified green school, Estabrook encourages alternative means of transportation to and from school. Accordingly, there is limited access to parking on school grounds. Traffic in the parking lot is ONE WAY, with entry at the top of the lot and exit at the bottom. There is no entrance to the parking lot between 8:15 – 8:45 a.m. or 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Access is limited to staff, those with scheduled meetings/appointments or medical emergencies and those authorized to use handicapped parking. Parking is available in the parking lot and in designated spaces along the driveway loop between before arrival, after dismissal and between 8:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Alternatively, off-site parking is available.
Parents should not park their car to accompany their children through this process. If parents have specific concerns, please contact your child’s teacher and/or the main office.
Parking is prohibited in the driveway loop, fire lanes, the Robinson Road rotary and the fire lane around the school building, enforced by the Lexington Police Department. Parking is also prohibited in handicapped parking spaces without a placard, and low emission spaces unless the vehicle meets that standard.
NO STOPPING RESTRICTION ON GROVE STREET
Per the Lexington Police Department, there is no stopping on Grove Street. Vehicles that stop (defined as pausing, idling, waiting, lining up, building up, crawling forward and queuing) on Grove Street will be directed to proceed past the Estabrook School driveway. Once the drop off line builds to the bottom of Grove Street driveway, vehicles will be directed to proceed past the school driveway and loop around the neighborhood. After 2:50 p.m., drivers may only take a right turn from Grove Street into the Estabrook School driveway. Grove Street is a single lane road each way. There is no bypassing the traffic line for any reason.